Episode 19
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Fern just deadpan going "You have no fucking clue".
This week is going to feel so long.
I do feel that it's weird how in a battlefield full of fighting mages - that one single binding spell would be detected amongst all others. That was the only real part that felt wrong.
If it's not Isuzu-chan Mii~
Wtf is happening. This anime has been so boring until last week and now we're suddenly in an epic death match free4all between the most powerful mages.
I don't like how killing each other is allowed and those 3 killed by bird monsters didn't matter to Denken and his group.
Wonder if the greenhaired evil girl and Wirbel, the silverhaird guy, who are fighting each other will both survive. Their designs are well made, you'd think the survive, but since it's a deadly battle between mages who enjoy killing, I'm not so sure.
Love how Fern is using "old" magic only, it's like "yo, kids, you and your fancy modern spells are real cute. Now let's end this, ok".
"She's the only non-loli girl in the show, your honor!" will be my defense in court
It's also weird that they didn't actually show how Fern's team caught their bird. Given how hard it is to do.
I really like the old man. He's smart and crafty. It's just a shame that he has absolutely no chance.
Marathoning this whole arc, or portions of this arc would be preferable. :/Originally Posted by Buffalobiian
This week is going to feel so long
I think the scenes with Fern fighting her mage, as well as Denken's assessment of the parties thawing the lake, the dead party, and his comments to his own party prove otherwise.
He's "weak," but he has experience, patience, and he's cautious above all. All the same principles that Flamme taught Frieren.
Frieren commented that she's been defeated several times by mages weaker than her. Denken is exactly the type of mage she was talking about.
Fern backs away too. She doesn't need to be flashy or powerful. She only has to win. Whether that is a decisive quick kill or outlasting, it doesn't matter. Her opponent is undoubtedly sensing the "wrongness" that Frieren and Fern use to fight demons. Denken used the same cautious approach to immediately trap Frieren's party.
The other party fighting Fern's is talking up their battle-experienced guy like he's the only one who has fought demons. They have no idea that Fern and Frieren are both practiced mageslayers because that's what all demons are. But I suppose the secret is the same. All three fight "unconventionally" for the modern era.
Wrong takeaway. Denken was disgusted. "Damn their outdated ideas," referring to the exam proctors. But he also knew he couldn't do anything about it. They were long dead past any kind of magical aid (remember that Frieren also knows simple healing magic. As long as a mage has a bible they can still do it to some degree.) and there was no point falling prey to the monsters themselves. Frieren used an exceeding powerful melee-range ancient folk magic spell on the monsters, it turned out.
Ok, Ryll, but I was talking about the killing in general, not just the monster birds.
"She's the only non-loli girl in the show, your honor!" will be my defense in court
So was Denken. That's my point.
The exam proctors encourage this because they think a superior first class mage won't die from any of the lethal potential while the rest get weeded out.
Denken rejects this notion completely in all its forms. Rewatch his little speech.
Others think a First Class Mage is about having power. Denken believes it is about being a representative of magical power.
Last edited by Ryllharu; Fri, 01-19-2024 at 07:23 PM.
Ok, again, that is my issue. And I don't just mean the "weeding out by monsters". The organizers also seem to be fine with mages killing each other. I don't like that. Paints the whole mage guild in a pretty bad light.
"She's the only non-loli girl in the show, your honor!" will be my defense in court
Yes to organisers are okay with killing.
No, it did matter to Denken.
As for Ferns capture, I assumed they got her because Fern is also a master of mana suppression. She's better than Frieren at that so she might not even produce mana when she moves, allowing her to place the bird in the cage.
We saw the examiner drinking tea in one of the shots and the bird just sits in the table, so they are approachable in a sense.
If it's not Isuzu-chan Mii~
My guess is 1st class mages are the regional/country last line of defence. They need to be able to survive or they would die quickly in a war/invasion or any kind of threat like demons for example.
We're back to the good old HxH. Battle royale with monsters spicing things up.
All the things I really like to do are either illegal, immoral, or fattening. And then: Golf.
Still seems like a massive waste that could easily kill off a lot of your 2nd best mages, which would leave you weaker against those threats. Especially since those mages will now never grow to become 1st Class mages.
You can develop tests that prevent weaker mages from becoming 1st Class without killing them off.
Crap like this is probably why there were "a lot more mages in the past" as Frieren said. It's clearly a system designed around enhancing the prestige of few mages, rather than prioritizing the safety of human civilization.
Exactly right.
"She's the only non-loli girl in the show, your honor!" will be my defense in court
It's (at least in part) a story about how elite institutions become insular and decrepit over time.
Also the direction in this episode was weird, it just stops basically mid-scene at the end.
I reckon that since the demon king was defeated, things became more relaxed for human countries and institutions. We have seen things can still be pretty bad, but probably generally speaking the human countries don't anymore feel like it's the end of the world. That allows entities like the mages guild to worship their own prestige like this, instead of dedicating every single bit of strength in defending against the demon invasion. It's exceptionally wasteful since powerful mages would still be very much needed to fight the demons, but if the mages guild leadership is really callous, they might even prefer it this way: Mages are much more valuable for the society when there are less of them and consequently the demons manage to destroy villages or even towns occasionally, creating panic. Kind of like artificially limiting the supply of medicine when a deadly disease is slowly spreading among the population; the price of the medicine will skyrocket and the ones controlling the supply of the medicine will accumulate wealth beyond measure.
Episode 20
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Consecutive normal punches
If it's not Isuzu-chan Mii~
wtf, did I timetravel? episode went by so fast, fuck.
"She's the only non-loli girl in the show, your honor!" will be my defense in court
It's one thing to let go someone who tried to rob the bird but failed, compared to letting go someone who succeeded at robbing it but still came back to cause more trouble, even threatening to kill people. Frieren is such a good person she only kills demons/monsters, but that group would deserve to have someone die. They should have just made themselves scarce after managing to snatch the bird. That one scumbag even repeatedly talks about killing the kids. Of all the mages so far, Richter is the most derserving of death.
I mean, it makes sense for them to do that. He knows if they don't keep Frieren busy, she's just going to hunt down the girl with the bird and take it back. It's not like he's doing it for funsies.
Agreed, but:
Anime and consequences. Choose one :/
"She's the only non-loli girl in the show, your honor!" will be my defense in court
It's not like this test would be an isolated universe. If someones dies there, they stay dead. If you make an enemy during the test, you have likely made an enemy for life, also outside of the test. Mages strong enough to attempt to become first rank mages are the worst kind of enemies one could make. Possibly worse than demons, as the demons don't operate following the same sort of emotions as humans do. Frieren is an elf, so maybe she wouldn't be as bad an enemy.
That's why I'd probably prefer to catch a wild bird, not a bird someone else already caught.
The funny thing is maybe if they just talked with Freiren about random things to stall her, their plan would've worked. She is so time blind that the test will be over before she realizes it.
Adding killing into the equation and starting the violence themselves was the worst possible play against Slayer/Reaper Freiren (title drop intended).
I actually think these mages heard stories of her and thought she was a support mage for the hero...
Last edited by shinta|hikari; Sun, 01-28-2024 at 01:21 PM.
Peace.
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